As an example of an absorbent article that absorbs a bodily waste fluid, a disposable diaper is used. This disposable diaper includes an absorbent main body that is applied to a crotch part of a wearer and absorbs a bodily waste fluid, an abdominal side member joined to one end portion in a longitudinal direction of an absorbent main body to cover an abdominal side portion of the wearer, and a back side member joined to another end portion in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body to cover a back side portion of the wearer.
Then, usually, as these back side member and abdominal side member, a sheet like member having flexibility to appropriately fasten tightly around the waist of the wearer is used. For example as shown in a perspective view in FIG. 1, this sheet like member 81 is formed by such as laying on and fixing a plurality of elastic members 85 such as a rubber thread along a width direction of the diaper onto an appropriate sheet 83 such as a nonwoven fabric.
In a region 81a to which an end portion of an absorbent main body is to be joined in the sheet like member 81, however, the elastic member 85 is divided in order to weaken elasticity of the sheet like member 81. This is because, if elasticity of this region 81a is strong, creases appear in the end portion of the absorbent main body by contraction of the region 81a, and liquid absorbency of the absorbent main body deteriorates.
Then, regarding this dividing method, PTL1 discloses dividing the elastic member 85 with embossing rolls 91, 93 that rotate in a circumferential direction Dc (refer to FIG. 1). Namely, in a predetermined area on an outer circumferential face of the top roll is provided an embossing protruding portion group 92G corresponding to the region 81a. Then, when passing the sheet 81 in between the rotating top roll 91 and the bottom roll 93, by compressing the elastic member 85 of the region 81a with embossing protruding portions 92 of the embossing protruding portion group 92G and the outer circumferential face of the bottom roll 93, the elastic member 85 is divided, and elasticity of the region 81a is weakened.